Snow Day!

I woke up on Saturday and looked out my window and all I could think was Snow Day! Being from East Tennessee where any decent amount of snow sticking to the ground shuts everything down, I thought for sure we were stuck inside all day.  I immediately thought it would be a great day for Chili, a fire and some good movies! As soon as we took the dogs out, I realized we were in Columbus, Ohio.  Columbus is prepared for the snow, so a few inches is nothing to keep anyone inside. It ended up being a beautiful day, but  I already had my mind on Chili. So for our "not so stuck in the house snow day" that is what we had...

 

Ground Turkey Chili w/ Honey Cornbread Muffins

 Ground Turkey Chili 

I have to admit, I really have no recipe.  I can tell you what I threw in the crock pot.  I have to add that about every 30 minutes I would walk by and throw in some extra seasoning of some kind.  Not helpful when trying to relay a recipe.  So I can tell you what to start with and then you can season to your liking.

*Ground Turkey, brown in pan with chili powder, salt & pepper. 
* 1 can of chili beans, drained
* 1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, with juice
* 1 onion, diced 
* 1 cup of spicy chunky salsa 
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder to taste
*2 Tablespoon of hot sauce (if you like some heat) 
*1 Tablespoon olive oil


1) In saute pan heat olive oil over medium heat, add ground turkey and cook until it is just browned (don't over cook since you will be adding it to the slow cooker as well).  While browning, sprinkle with a dash of salt, pepper and chili powder.  Once brown, throw in crock pot. Without cleaning pan, add diced onion and saute over medium heat until soft, mix in minced garlic for the last minute and then throw onions and garlic in crock pot.

2) Pour beans (drained) and tomatoes (not drained) in crock pot.  Add salsa and spices. Add hot sauce now if you choose.  Once you stir it up really good, if you feel you need a little more "juice"  you have several options.  I have known some to use tomato soup, other's spaghetti sauce or vegetable broth.  We decided to add about 3/4 a cup of V8 to give it a little more liquid.  

3) Stir well and cover crock pot.  Set it on low to medium heat for about 2 hours.  Ready to eat once it is warm, but the longer it heats the better the flavors will taste! 

Honey Cornbread Muffins

* 1 cup White Cornmeal                                            * 1 cup all-purpose flour

* 1 Tablespoon baking powder                                  * 1/4 cup of sugar in the raw

* 1/4 cup of brown sugar                                           * 1 teaspoon of salt

* 1 cup of buttermilk                                                  * 2 eggs

* 2 Tablespoons of butter                                           * 1/4 cup of honey

1) Preheat oven to 400

2) Mix flour, salt, baking powder and cornmeal in a small bowl and set aside.

3) Beat eggs, sugar, sugar in the raw, brown sugar, honey, butter and buttermilk in a large mixing bowl. 

4) Stir dry mix into wet mix and stir until mixed very well. 

5) Pour batter into large muffin tin.  Should make 12 large muffins.

6) Bake for 14-18 minutes, or until golden brown.  Every over is different so you might want to check on them at 14 minutes!